


Love Me Tender

by Sparrowlicious



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cardinal and Armitage as step-siblings, First Love, Good Parent Han Solo, Kylo Ren's garage band, M/M, Pining, embarrassing love confession, slight teenage angst - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-31 23:11:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20248204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparrowlicious/pseuds/Sparrowlicious
Summary: Ben Solo has a garage band: Kylo and the Knights of Ren.He has big dreams for his career as a rock star but his biggest dream by far is for his neighbor Armitage Hux to notice him.Does Armitage even know he's alive? Ben isn't sure.He can only hope his rather original love confession would make Armitage notice him...





	Love Me Tender

**Author's Note:**

> For the kyluxXOXO summerfest week 7, prompts used: band, love, sweet :')
> 
> Quick note, the age difference between Ben and Armitage in this fic is 2 years, Ben is 16, Armitage is 18. Nothing naughty happens, only smooching.  
Additional note: I know absolutely nothing about the process of writing music, please be nice. *cries*

Strands of dark hair escaped his ponytail and stuck to Ben’s sweaty face as his fingers strummed his electric guitar’s strings. Too caught up in the music he didn’t notice anything around him. It was perfect. This was what he loved about music, losing himself in it, giving it his all when he sang and played his guitar. Ben imagined performing at festivals, on big stages, that sort of thing. He had this vision of him and his band making it big. They were called ‘Kylo and the Knights of Ren’ with him being Kylo and the other two, well, his knights. Sort of.

The song came to an end, the last few chords tapering off into silence. It was one of their originals instead of the grunge rock songs they often covered for practice. It felt good to sing something Ben wrote himself, freeing.

Someone cleared their throat loudly from the garage door, Ben snapped his gaze towards the source of the sound, suddenly alert. His mouth fell open. It was Armitage. Perfect, pretty Armitage Hux. The love of his life. Only Armitage didn’t know anything about it. Not yet anyway.

“H-Hey,” Ben said. Despite the Hux family moving in next door five years ago, Ben was still nervous around him, especially when he was this close. They were in the same room together. Ben’s heart beat faster, it felt as if it was about to leap out of his chest.

“Yeah, hey, whatever,” Armitage said with an overly bored expression. “Hey Cardinal, your mum said you have to come home. Don’t turn off your damn phone next time, I’m not your fucking chaperon.”

Ben loved Armitage’s accent so much.

“Hey, she’s your mom too!” Cardinal yelled. Never a dull moment with these two. Ben wondered sometimes what it would be like to have a sibling, even if they only were a step-sibling like Cardinal and Armitage were.

“No, my mum lives in York,” Armitage said in annoyance. Both he and Cardinal argued on the way out, neither of them bothering saying goodbye.

“Uh, bye Armitage,” Ben muttered, staring after him and knowing full well neither of them had heard him.

“Wow,” Phasma said, obviously unimpressed from where she sat at the drums. Cardinal sure as hell didn’t realize Ben’s big crush on Armitage but for Phasma and everyone else it was clear as day and she wasn’t invested in whatever Ben was up to. Phasma was only interested in drumming. There wasn’t much else to her. She had made it clear from the beginning that she had no interest in sharing anything of her personal life with any of them. The only thing Ben knew about her was that she lived alone with her brother.

“Since Cardinal is gone and you’re in puppy eyes mode I better get going too,” she said and started to pack up her stuff. She didn’t have much since she left her drum set in the Organa-Solo’s garage. It was easier since they practiced there all the time and she said she didn’t have much space at home anyway.

“Hey, come on! We don’t need the bass to practice!” Ben said, throwing up his hands, his guitar dangling against him creating some annoying static on the amp.

“Cardinal needs the practice more than you,” Phasma said with a shrug. “Also, every time you see Armitage you only want to play cheesy love songs. Sucks to drum them. I’m not into it. No thank you.”

She was right of course. Every time Ben even caught so much as a glimpse of Armitage Hux he got impossibly mushy. Also, Phasma hated romance for some reason.

“Ugh, fine. Just go,” Ben said, shaking his head.

“Bye, Ben. See you Wednesday,” Phasma said less than enthusiastic and left him.

Ben looked around the garage now that he was alone and sighed. So much for practice. They still got a lot done though. Ben wasn’t exactly unhappy with their progress but he wanted to get ahead soon. Sure, he was only 16 years old but his dreams were so much bigger than himself. If they didn’t take this seriously now then he feared they wouldn’t get out of the garage and into the spotlight.

He unplugged his guitar, grabbed the notebook with his songs and left the garage to head to his room. He didn’t need his big amp if he was going to work on his songs. Besides, there was one thing about his room that made staying there to work on his creative projects worthwhile.

Ben settled on his bed, guitar in his lap and notebook open besides him. He had a pencil behind his ear to jot things down when they came to him. He strung some chords of the song he was currently working on, humming the melody as he looked out of his window. From here he could see perfectly well into Armitage’s room. At least he could when the curtains weren’t drawn which they often weren’t. He could see him sit on his bed reading a book as he often did.

Even though Armitage was two years older than Ben it didn’t deter Ben from being attracted to him. He was the most beautiful person he had ever seen and if it weren’t for Armitage picking his step-brother up every now and then he would probably never get to see him up close. Armitage mostly stayed in his room and Ben only knew it because he could spend hours watching him, which he actually did from time to time. Armitage was his muse, a lot of Ben’s songs only existed because of him.

He didn’t know if Armitage was aware. Hell, he didn’t even know if Armitage thought anything of him other than that they were neighbors. Hell, if it weren’t for Cardinal being in his band Ben was sure Armitage wouldn’t even know he was alive.

A thought came to him and he made some notes for the song’s lyrics. They weren’t quite done yet. Ben hummed to himself, mouthing the lyrics as he strummed along on his guitar. Not yet, it wasn’t done yet. This was a special song. He needed it to be good.

When Ben thought about his ideal future it would be as a rock star with Armitage Hux as his husband. If Armitage would take his name? Or would Ben take his? He didn’t know yet. They would live in a huge mansion and Armitage would never want for anything, Ben would make sure of it.

A glimpse of Armitage’s ginger hair near the window made him look up from his notes. Armitage opened his window, he rested his arms on the windowsill as he looked out. Even from here Ben could see how sad he looked but also how the wind played with his soft-looking hair. Something in Armitage’s gaze felt vaguely familiar. It was something Ben saw in his own eyes every now and then when he looked in the mirror and his teenage angst plagued him. Only with Armitage it seemed so much more serious and real, it made Ben think his own problems were insignificant.

He could only stare at Armitage as if he could figure out what was wrong with him by mere observation. Of course Armitage’s silent form wouldn’t reveal its secrets to Ben so he was left observing.

At least until a noise from behind him had Armitage turn around. The door opened and Armitage’s father stood there. Ben couldn’t hear what they were saying but he could hear some noise from his tilted window. Whatever it was his father wanted, it had Armitage close the window with a pained expression before he left the room.

Ben stared out of the window for a moment longer, a knot of anxiety forming in his chest. From observation he knew Armitage’s father wasn’t overly fond of his son. It hurt to see Armitage like this, like he was suffering. At least at the moment Ben didn’t have to see it but he still knew something was up. It didn’t make it any better.

He had tried talking to Cardinal about it once but didn’t get a good answer out of him. As far as Armitage was concerned Cardinal acted as if he was the problem instead of their father being an asshole.

The pencil behind Ben’s ear was quickly in his hand to jot down a few hasty notes he had on his song. A somewhat sad turn. He played a few chords and tried his best to piece the lyrics together, at least the ones he already had. Ben tried hard to make it a good song but unlike his teenage angst songs this one was meant to impress a very special person in his life. Or at least someone he WANTED to be in his life.

It was his love confession. Ben wanted it to be perfect, something he could sing to Armitage so he would know the full extend of his feelings but he also wanted to impress him. If he was about to bear his soul to Armitage Hux it might as well be the best song he ever wrote, hell, the best song anyone ever wrote.

  


Ben went through his notes over and over again until Dad called him to dinner. With a sigh he left his notebook behind on the bed and he put his guitar into its stand. Since Mom was busy it was usually Dad who cooked. Ben didn’t mind. At least Dad took the time to mash real potatoes for mashed potatoes instead of making them from powder. He also didn’t insist on three quarters of the plate being veggies.

It wasn’t bad with just Dad for company but maybe a bit lonely. But Ben couldn’t complain especially not since it was a pizza day – another thing Dad made himself and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

“Hey son, grab some plates for us,” Dad said as Ben came down to the kitchen. When it was just the two of them they always ate at the kitchen island instead of carrying everything over to the dining room. It already smelled pretty great so he hurried to grab some plates and napkins. They wouldn’t need any cutlery for pizza.

“Smells good,” he said as he plopped himself down on a chair.

“Thanks, kid. I put garlic oil on the crust this time. You know, like garlic bread? But on the pizza.”

It smelled like heaven. Ben couldn’t even look at any other pizza after tasting his father’s.

“Cool,” Ben said.

They ate in silence for a while. The garlic crust turned out better than Ben had anticipated. While he was stuffing his face, Dad cleared his throat.

“So I heard you messing around with the guitar upstairs. Are you still working on the song for that Hux kid?” Dad said casually, causing Ben to almost choke on a piece of pepperoni.

After what felt like coughing up half a lung Ben eventually got around to answer:

“Yeah, it’s still too rough around the edges. I want him to like it.” What he desperately wanted to say was ‘I want him to like ME’ but even Ben wasn’t this pathetic to admit something like this in front of his father. He didn’t have to say it though since Dad obviously read it in his face.

“Ben, he will like it because you made it for him. Doesn’t matter if it’s the best song in the world or not,” Dad said as he wiped his greasy fingers on a napkin. He put his now somewhat clean hand on Ben’s shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

“I’m going out with Uncle Chewie tonight. It’s as good a chance as any to play it to him if you don’t want your mom or me to hear.”

Ben cringed so hard he pressed the back of his hand against his by now hot face. He especially did not want his parents to hear the song.

“Daaaaaad,” he wailed. “I don’t even know if he knows I exist!” His face grew even hotter.

“After singing the song to him he’ll surely know who you are,” Dad said, his hand now clapping Ben on the back.

“Just … think about it, okay? You never know what might happen.”

Ben groaned but thankfully Dad left him alone for the rest of the meal so he was left to ponder what he might do. He could try and invite Armitage over to the garage but it would mean actually interacting with anyone who might open the front door. No, he didn’t want to talk to Armitage’s step-mother and even less to his father. That wouldn’t do. No.

After dinner Ben lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Dad had left about half an hour ago and he still didn’t know what to do. Ben’s notes were next to him on the bed and no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t seem to get the lyrics to sound exactly right. They were way too corny, too cringy, too sappy. But if he toned them down he felt like they lost their message, which was his undying love for Armitage.

Ben grabbed the notebook and flipped through it. All of his songs were in there, from his first, terrible ones to the current ones as well as the page where he scribbled his notes on Armitage’s song. He had erased so much, the page looked terribly smudged, the paper somewhat damaged. The chords were okay. He was writing this to play on his guitar only since Ben didn’t want the others to be there when he played it for Armitage.

But it was like his father had said, tonight was a good chance. It wasn’t very late and the sun was still up. He looked at the notes again, grabbed his pencil and started to string things together so the song would at least sound like SOMETHING instead of a bit of sappiness here and a bit of cornyness there and nothing in between. The lyrics weren’t quite there still and yet it was most of a song. This might work.

Ben grabbed his guitar from the stand and started to finger the strings a couple of times before he played through what he had. He played it again, while singing the lyrics this time. Ben tried to smooth things out once more so it would sound at least somewhat decent together with the music Maybe it wasn’t perfect but it was better than nothing and he hoped his message would come across.

He idly tapped the body of his guitar, thinking of a way to make Armitage listen to his song when he had a silly thought. Maybe he could just … No, that was stupid. But why not?

Ben put the guitar down and spent the next twenty minutes or so hauling some of his equipment from the garage upstairs to his room. Like this he could reach Armitage across the gulf that was the space between their houses. Wiping his sweaty brow Ben looked over to see Armitage sitting on his bed again, book in hand.

Ben put the speaker for his amp and for his microphone on the windowsill of his open window. Now he only had to get Armitage’s attention, and later he would probably have that of the immediate neighborhood but it would hopefully be worth it. If only he had something to throw … Ben searched his desk frantically but there wasn’t anything he didn’t mind losing, at least nothing so light it wouldn’t break the window. And then he picked up his eraser – the only eraser he had – and chucked it at Armitage’s window. It hit straight on and pounced off beautifully only to plunge never to be seen again down into the Hux’s backyard.

Ben groaned. At first it looked like Armitage didn’t notice anything and Ben didn’t have much else he could safely throw but then Armitage put the book down, went to the window and looked out. Their eyes met. Excited, Ben gestured to his own window and made what he hoped would look like a motion of opening it. Armitage gave him a puzzled look but then opened his window and watched what he was up to, leaning his arms on the windowsill.

It was now or never. Ben strummed his guitar, the intro of Armitage’s song beautifully playing across the yard and for all the world to hear. Or at least the other houses on their street. He closed his eyes and started to sing, losing himself in the music as he poured out the expression of his love for Armitage. Ben sang from his heart, praising Armitage’s features like they were those of a god, his undying devotion to him, his love, everything.

When it was over and the last few chords tapered off into silence Ben opened his eyes, hopeful to find Armitage’s reaction a positive one. Instead he was met with pure horror dancing across Armitage’s features. He looked completely bewildered and before Ben could even try to say anything the window was already closed, Armitage gone the room.

Ben rubbed a hand over his face before turning everything off. He had hauled all of this up here for nothing. His chest hurt, his throat seized up, he felt like crying but also like throwing up. So this is what rejection was like and he hated it. Ben at least managed to put his guitar in the stand before flinging himself onto the bed and burying his face in the pillow. His life was over. How could he ever recover form this?

But then someone rang the doorbell. He groaned and tried to bury his face deeper into the pillow. It rang again, and again and again in shorter intervals. Not only did Ben have to deal with his heartbreak he now also had to deal with an angry neighbor. Great, just great.

He groaned for the last time, sat up and pushed his messy hair out of his face. The doorbell kept ringing. Ben dragged himself downstairs, wondering which one of their neighbors it might be.

When he opened the door he came face to face with the object of his desire: Armitage Hux, 18, scary. Ben could only stare open-mouthed at him. Even if he knew anything to say it wouldn’t have mattered since Armitage immediately started ranting at him:

“How dare you! Did Cardinal put you up to this? How dare you embarrass me like this in front of the entire neighborhood!? Have you no shame, Ben Solo!?” Armitage’s hands gestured wildly in his rage. Ben could only hide his own heated face in his hands. He had never been this close to Armitage but instead of sharing a tender moment it all went wrong.

“But I love you, Cardinal had nothing to do with it, he doesn’t even know…,” Ben muttered from between his fingers. Armitage went silent.

“Come again?”

Ben drew a deep breath, still hiding most of his face behind his hands.

“The song was my confession to you. I’ve been in love with you ever since you guys moved here.”

Armitage didn’t say anything and Ben didn’t dare look. He stood frozen, waiting for judgment, his fear sat like a heavy stone in his stomach. He flinched hard when Armitage put his hands on his.

“Ben,” he said in a low voice, his anger gone. “Look at me.”

“I can’t. You hate me”, Ben muttered. He didn’t want to look Armitage in the eye when he rejected him completely. But Armitage’s hands never left his, instead his thumbs stroked the back of Ben’s hands soothingly.

“I don’t hate you. I just thought … I thought you and Cardinal were making fun of me. You’re lucky my father isn’t home, he wouldn’t be happy to put it mildly.” Armitage sighed. “Ben, can we talk about this? Inside?”

Ben took a shaky breath, his hands slowly moving off his face but Armitage didn’t let go, instead his hands were now on Ben’s terribly hot face. He looked at him but there was no anger, instead he seemed almost fragile.

“Uh, sure,” Ben muttered. He almost didn’t want to move away so he could enjoy Armitage’s hands on his face but being alone with him? In his house? It felt like a dream.

Ben led Armitage into the living room and he couldn’t quite believe it but they were sitting next to each other on the couch, their legs almost touching. If only he could move a tiny bit closer...

“Look,” Armitage said. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. Your song was very sweet. It’s just…”

“You don’t like me,” Ben said with such finality, he made his own heart throb in pain. Armitage was just being nice letting him down easy but why did it still hurt so much?

“That’s not what I’m trying to say! Listen to me!”

Ben bit his lip. He wanted this to be over so badly.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even consider you anything other than my dumb step-brother’s band friend. I should have paid more attention. Five years is a long time to have a crush on someone.”

Armitage sounded so mature. Ben couldn’t hold a candle to him, he felt so young and stupid in comparison. He stared at his hands where his fingers dug tightly into the fabric of his jeans.

“Ben, I’d love to get to know you better. You obviously put a lot of work into your song. I don’t know how I deserve this… I never even talked to you. Ever.”

Ben perked up. For the first time in what was probably only five minutes but felt like an eternity he looked at Armitage who’s face was just as flushed as Ben’s felt.

“So … you would … date me?” Ben said slowly, not believing his luck. Armitage didn’t outright reject him, he might still have a chance!

“Yes, I’d like to try. You’re sweet and handsome and honestly, I’m not really interested in anything much in this town. Or anyone, for that matter. At least until now. I know it’s already been five years but…” Armitage sighed. “I miss my old home.”

Then he smiled at Ben. “Maybe you can help me find something I like here so I don’t miss it so badly anymore.”

Ben wiped an unshed tear from his eyes, he couldn’t help but smile at Armitage, he was so happy.

“I’ll do what I can to make you feel better,” Ben said although he didn’t even know where to start. He swallowed his fear and took Armitage’s hands in his own. They were so soft and fragile-looking unlike Ben’s own too-big paws which where calloused from his guitar-playing. Armitage smiled at him. Was his face this close before? Ben didn’t know but also didn’t care.

“I know what will make me feel a lot better right now,” Armitage said before closing the distance. Ben was frozen on the spot as he felt Armitage’s lips on his own. His hands were on Ben’s face again and Ben couldn’t help but melt into the kiss. This was only the second time Ben kissed anyone ever but before he could get self-conscious and ruin everything it was already over.

“Yes, that felt good,” Armitage said. “But you know what would make me feel even better? If we talked a little. I meant it. I want to get to know you. We can still make out. I like your lips, they’re very soft.” He ran the pad of his thumb over Ben’s lips.

Ben didn’t know what to say. His face was still hot. He snapped. Instead of answering he was on Armitage, kissing him again. Armitage let him.

They ended up on the couch with Armitage on his back and Ben on top of him. I didn’t go beyond kissing. Armitage had his hands on Ben’s back where they moved in soothing circles while Ben was busy trying not to fall over and on top of him, until Armitage drew him down so Ben could rest his head against his chest. One of Armitage’s hands was in his hair, the other on his back and Ben closed his eyes for a moment. Armitage smelled so good, Ben could hardly believe he was this close to him.

“Tell me something about yourself,” Armitage said, startling Ben out of his reverie.

“Uh, sure. If you tell me something about yourself too,” Ben said. Watching Armitage all the time through his bedroom window didn’t give him much of an idea what his life was like outside these private moments.

“Sure,” Armitage said before pressing a kiss to Ben’s head.

  


They spent the next few hours talking. Ben told Armitage about his hopes and dreams for the future, how he wanted his band to be successful, all of his pipe dreams (excluding the one where Armitage was his husband, at least for now). But he also talked about his parents, his mom’s job that kept her away for most days, how his dad took care of him most of the time, how it made him feel. It was nice to talk to someone about it and Ben quickly felt comfortable enough around Armitage to open up.

In exchange, Armitage talked about his life back in the UK, how the schools were different there, his father’s marriage to Cardinal’s mother, their weird family dynamic. How they had moved here because of his father’s work. Armitage even confessed to him that he thought his father treated Cardinal better than him but it was probably so Cardinal’s mother wouldn’t be cross with her husband. Not that she cared overly much about anyone but her biological son. Armitage told him about how he hadn’t yet decided what he wanted to study and how his father was pressuring him. He was lonely. They both were in their own ways.

The sun had gone down a while ago but they didn’t mind being in the dark as they kept talking.

"Remember that one time I was over at your house? Cardinal wanted to show me a game but I couldn't stop looking at your closed door," Ben said. Armitage's laugh was a special kind of music as he chuckled.

"I didn’t even know that. You were desperate. It would be cute if it weren't so sad," he said. “I wished I would’ve picked up on it back then.”

"I think your father caught me looking because he called me a punk and said I wasn't welcome in his home anymore," Ben said. Armitage laughed even louder.

“Sounds like him,” he eventually said. “Please tell me you’ve been to our house afterwards.”

“Of course. He didn’t even notice.” Ben grinned against Armitage’s chest. They both laughed.

Ben could listen to Armitage’s voice for hours without ever growing tired of it, or so he thought because he did end up falling asleep for a moment with his head on Armitage’s chest and his hand in his hair.

He startled awake when the front door opened, waking Armitage as well. Ben sat up slowly as to not make too much noise and stretched biting back a yawn. He could hear both his parents talking quietly in the hallway.

“Should I get going?” Armitage whispered as he slowly sat up, his shoulder bumping against Ben’s. He wanted to say no but Ben didn’t know if Armitage wanted to deal with his family. Not that his parents minded, hell, his father would give him a high-five. Which was exactly why he didn’t want them to meet Armitage just yet.

“It’s probably better for now,” Ben eventually whispered back. “My parents are super embarrassing. Come on, let’s get out through the back door.”

“Sneaky,” Armitage whispered and then chuckled as Ben took his hand and led him away from the couch. They were in the dark but Ben could walk through the house blindfolded by now without bumping into anything. Unfortunately Armitage didn’t have this knowledge of their house so he never let go of Ben’s hand even though they were both used to the dark by now, until they were at the back door which Ben closed carefully behind them. The patio light went on and immediately drew in tiny insects, a moth bumped audibly against the light bulb.

Ben couldn’t help but pull Armitage close. Despite their two year gap he was the slightest bit taller than him.

“So much for letting me go home,” Armitage whispered. He smiled sweetly, Ben could look at him forever but it was getting late. A part of him knew Armitage might get in trouble with his parents for staying out too late but he found he didn’t care.

“I don’t want to let you go. Ever,” Ben said, feeling rather foolish shortly afterwards. Armitage laughed quietly and then leaned in for another kiss.

“A goodnight kiss. We’ll see each other tomorrow, I promise.” Armitage pulled away from Ben, his hands trailing along his body. Ben realized something. Something he didn’t ask.

“Wait just a second,” he said, quickly taking a step closer. “Are we boyfriends? Are you my boyfriend?”

“Yes,” Armitage said. “You’re my boyfriend.”

Ben had to press a hand to his mouth so he wouldn’t shout, he was so happy. His first boyfriend was Armitage Hux, the love of his life.

“Good night, Ben,” Armitage said and walked off, leaving Ben to watch him disappear into the darkness. He wasn’t sure how long he was staring after Armitage but Ben suddenly realized he could always look over from his bedroom window. He scrambled to get inside, only to come face-to-face with his parents.

“That went well,” Dad said, giving him a thumbs up.

“I know it’s the summer break but you shouldn’t stay up too late,” Mom said. She looked rather tired herself and Ben was too excited too argue so he told them goodnight and rushed upstairs instead. He could hear his parents laughing. None of it mattered because the moment Ben was in his room he started towards his window, almost knocking over the microphone stand. He would have to drag all this stuff downstairs and back to the garage but it could wait until tomorrow.

Armitage was already there with the lights on and watching from where he sat on his bed, the curtains open. When he saw Ben he immediately perked up. There was something in his hands Ben couldn’t yet see until Armitage moved to the window and held up a notepad with huge numbers written on it. Ben stared for a moment, dumbfounded, until he realized it was a phone number. He scrambled quickly for his phone and put the number in, immediately sending Armitage a short message.

Armitage put the note down and checked his phone instead, then looked back up to Ben and gave him a thumbs up.

They both went to bed shortly afterwards but stayed up texting for most of the night. Ben felt like he never wanted to sleep ever again so he wouldn’t miss even one second of a chance to talk to Armitage but even he eventually succumbed to sleep.

  


A few days later:

Ben was lost in the music. Everything was on point for once. Ben sang his heart out, putting every bit of his soul into the song. So basically it was like any other practice session.

He was in the middle of the chorus singing with his eyes closed when Cardinal's voice cut through the song: "What the hell are you doing here. It's not even 4 yet!"

Ben stopped playing and spotted Armitage lounging on the big bean bag which was currently their only furniture for sitting if you didn't count where Phasma sat at the drums.

“Well, excuse me,” Armitage said in an extra snotty voice. “I’m allowed to hang out with my boyfriend if I want to. If this is distracting to you then why do you even play in a band in the first place?”

Ben hastily put the guitar down, his face adorned by a big grin as he rushed over to where Armitage sat. He dragged him to his feet and kissed him deeply, while Cardinal made disgusted noises in the background. Phasma only huffed and muttered, “Finally. Can we go back to practice now?”  
“What do you mean, finally? Phasma??” Cardinal wailed. All the while neither Ben nor Armitage cared as they held each other.

About 15 and a half years later:

They could hear the crowd chanting their names.

“KYLO! KYLO! KYLO!” it went. Ben couldn’t stop smiling, unlike his stage persona. His husband stood not far off with a clip board, coordinating things as he usually did. Ben tried sneaking up on him but Armitage held up one hand to stop him.

“Ben, we did it, we’re playing in front of a full house tonight,” he said, his smile was the most beautiful thing Ben had ever seen in his life and he got to see it every day. And he was so damn sexy with his clip board. In fact, Armitage Hux was the only person Ben had ever seen who looked sexy holding a clip board. It was outright unfair.

“Shit, really?” Ben said, sweeping Armitage up into his arms even though he tried to protest albeit weakly.

“Ben, is that glitter on your face? Why is there glitter on your face? Don’t tell me you’re taking your helmet off again,” Armitage said, his thumb rubbing something off of Ben’s cheek.

“Aww, come on. The crowd goes wild when I do it. They l-o-v-e it!”

“We’re on a world tour, if you’re doing this then do it consistently,” Armitage said disapprovingly. “Not just every other day.” He made a face but not for long since Ben kissed him one last time for luck before he headed off to put on the rest of his costume.

The others were already waiting, both Phasma and Cardinal in their own outfits – Phasma in shiny chrome and Cardinal and a flashy red. Ben was Kylo Ren, a futuristic sci-fi knight, Phasma and Cardinal his captains. It was quite the gimmick and they had to carefully engineer a microphone that worked with Ben’s helmet idea but in the end it turned out to be a good decision.

The band stepped onto the stage, Ben took his position in the front, his custom-made black and red electric guitar already in hand, his ragged cape fluttered thanks to an artificial wind.

“GOOD EVENING VIENNA! ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?”

The crowd went wild.

**Author's Note:**

> The band plays in Vienna because I live here. :'D


End file.
